Inevitable
by elizzabethavary
Summary: Chandler is torn between safety and love. Mondler in the beginning. Chandler/Joey. Will probably never be finished.
1. Chapter 1

Chandler sat by the large window in his and Monica's apartment. He softly grazed his fingers along the cold glass. His heart felt hard in his chest. He looked out the window to the apartment across the street and saw Ross making dinner. He envied Ross in someways. He knew that it was inevitable; Ross was going to end up with Rachel. He knew that, Monica knew that and deep down, Ross knew that. Chandler sighed; he wished it was that easy for him.

"Honey?" Monica asked, leaning against the doorframe to their room. Chandler glanced at his scantily clad fiancée. Time for structured sex, oh the joys of life. He sighed and got up. He saw Ross glance over from his apartment and give him a highly inappropriate thumb up. Chandler raised his eyebrows and turned back to Monica.

"Coming honey," Time to fake a smile and make this work. With that, following Monica into their bedroom, discarding his shirt on the way.

It was about 1 AM by the time Monica had finished with Chandler and fell asleep. Little did she know, Chandler snuck out of bed, slept on the couch all-night and snuck back in the morning before she woke up. It wasn't like Chandler didn't love his fiancée. Of course he did, he wouldn't have proposed if he didn't. Would he? No, he decided, he wouldn't have. Chandler rested his head against the arm of the sofa and sighed. He couldn't help it if his thoughts kept straying across the hall, to the man Chandler had basically taken care of for the past seven years, to Joey. If only he could go back two years and not have slept with Monica in London. Chandler shook his head violently. No. No. Monica had his heart. Didn't she? He sighed. No, she didn't. But he knew that if he broke Monica's heart, he'd be cutting the cords to all his friendships. Rachel, Phoebe, Ross. Especially Ross. And Joey. Well, Joey would be the most forgiving. No. That's just what he wanted to think. He wanted to think that Joey would forgive him, because that's who he would be breaking Monica's heart for. He leaned his head back and let his eyelids flutter over his eyes. Picturing the life he could have had. No, not could have had, the life he wanted.

Chandler was half asleep when the door burst open to reveal a slightly out of breath Joey.

"Ch-Chandler!" 

"What in the god damn hell are you doing here Joey!?" Chandler whispered, a little panicked. "And why don't we ever lock the damn door?

"I-I think m-my dates gonna k-kill me" Joey panted grabbing his sides. Chandler's eyes shot open.

"Huh?" Chandler gasped.

"K-knife, she she tied me-" Joey paused, "Why are you sleeping on the couch?"

"I- uh me and Monica had a fight." He lied smoothly examining Joey's calm expression. "Uh Joe? The murderer?"

"Oh yeah!" he got tense again. "She had a knife!" Joey sat down beside him, a little too close in Chandler's opinion, but Joey didn't think anything of it. He and Chandler had always been a little too close.

"So what about Rachel?" Chandler managed to ask, not totally believing the whole story.

"Oh she's out tonight." Joey said in a nonchalant manner.

"Joe- did you make up this date to get some food from our fridge?"

"No!" Joey said defensively, "Okay maybe a little. But I did have a date.. Katelynn? No, Madison. No, Julia."

"Doesn't matter," Chandler sighed, "Take what you like Joe. It doesn't matter." Chandler sighed again and slouched back into the couch. Like he could deny Joey anything he wanted. Joey smiled that small smile reserved only for Chandler.

"Thanks man." Joey turned to walk into the kitchen. "Chandler?" Chandler turned his head over the back of the couch. 

"Yeah Joe?"

"You're the best." He tried to hug Chandler over the back of the couch but fell over the back and landed with a smack on the floor. He landed hard enough to wake up Mr. Heckles, and he was dead so naturally Monica appeared in the doorway.

"What's going on?" She muttered, looking at Joey on the floor and Chandler on the couch.

"Uh- um. I called Joey over because I couldn't sleep and he was just about to leave and he tripped and fell." Monica rolled her eyes and demanded Joey leave the apartment. Joey hesitated, knowing Chandler was taking the rap for him and opened his mouth to argue but was silenced by the look on his friends face that blatantly said, 'ignore it and leave.' So he did.

Once Joey had left and he had insisted that he sleep on the couch because he wasn't feeling good, Monica went back to bed and Chandler was left alone with his thoughts. Or thought in this case.

He knew he couldn't leave Monica. Monica was safe. With Monica, he knew he had a future. No matter how hard he falls for his best friend, the guy across the hall, it's not like anything would ever happen. Joey was straighter than a board, and Chandler, wasn't so sure anymore. No matter how he felt about Joey, he could never leave Monica. Monica was Chandler's future, in love or not, because he knew, even if he didn't love Monica, they've been friends for too long for Chandler to hurt her. And by hurting Monica he would hurt Ross, and Rachel, Phoebe and of course, Joey. And he wouldn't do anything to hurt Joey, ever. He knew that Joey had his heart, he knew that he always would, but he knew that he had to stay with Monica, because life wasn't just that fair.

--

Joey closed the door to his apartment greeted by his date. Rebecca, he had decided her name was. He had told her that he needed a shower before he went to bed. She rolled her eyes and went back into the bedroom. Joey turned on the tap and sat at the edge of the bathtub. His chest felt heavy and his palms were sweaty. He needed to stop making up excuses to see Chandler in the middle of the night because this was getting ridiculous. He sighed. Monica had Chandler. Chandler was his best friend. He was just Joey, the guy who slept with more women than he could count. His stomach churned at the thought. This lifestyle was all Joey knew, but since he'd started feeling differently about Chandler, he'd second-guessed his whole life. He put his face in his hands. He needed to get over this, he was ordaining their wedding. He whispered "I love you, Chandler." Before moving on from this passage in his life.

-- Six Years Later --

Chandler sat on his leather recliner bouncing Erica on his knee while Jack played on the floor with Duck Jr. He liked Duck Jr. better than Chick Jr. because he could play with the duck in the bathtub. Chandler chuckled to himself, he loved his children, so much. The door opened to the familiar apartment and Rachel, Ross and Emma walked in. Emma was starting school this year. Erica saw her cousin walk in the door and went straight for her blabbing about a new toy Joey had bought her at the market that morning. Ross and Rachel went to sit by Chandler.

"So, how are you?"

"I'm- okay." Rachel smiled and rubbed his shoulder.

It had been three years to the day since Monica had left him. Richard had came back into her life and Chandler had been kicked out as a result. Not that Chandler particularly minded, It was better than him leaving her. He took a deep breath and looked around. This had always been Joey and Chandler's apartment. It hadn't changed in the fifteen years that they'd lived here. Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey had sympathized with Chandler after Monica left him. Joey had promptly offered him his room back and hasn't spoken to Monica since. Phoebe and Rachel still talk to Monica periodically and Ross only sees her at family events. Chandler only speaks to her with the passing off of Jack and Erica every other weekend. It hadn't been a messy divorce, no custody battle. Monica was a mom, Chandler couldn't take that away from her. He felt his heart stammer, he hated being in love with two people.

Joey walked out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. He looked over to Chandler with a shy smile before noticing Ross, Rachel and Emma. He stuttered and made up a date that he was getting ready for while Chandler rolled his eyes. Joey hadn't been on a date in three years.

Chandler and Joey had been together for the better part of three years. Jack's first word was 'daddy' to Joey. Erica told Chandler and Joey that they were better than her other daddy. That had made Chandler's fist clench. He had had to calmly explain that she shouldn't call Richard daddy, because Richard wasn't her daddy. Nobody else knew about Chandler and Joey. Not even Rachel, who lived with them for a year before finally marrying Ross. Like Chandler had thought, inevitable. Chandler should have known then that he and Joey were inevitable too. But he was glad, because if he had of left Monica six years ago, he wouldn't have had his two children, who smiled fondly at him from the floor. He smiled back and looked at Joey adoringly. Joey returned the glance nervously and walked into his room to get dressed. Today was also the day that he and Joey were going to tell the gang. As that thought crossed his mind, Phoebe and Mike entered the apartment. Phoebe maneuvered her pregnant belly around the door and Mike followed in tow.

"So what's the news!?" She exclaimed after sitting on the long brown couch on the opposite end of the room. Joey's head came poking out of the door.

"Oh hey Pheebs." He smiled.

"Yeah Chandler, come on, tell us!" Rachel squealed.

"Well, it's partly Joey's news too, so we have to wait for him." Chandler stalled. He was absolutely terrified of telling his friends about his relationship with Joey. Shocked that he could still call them his friends after the whole Monica fiasco. He thought this may make them take Monica's side after all.

He let his hand fall to the side and his fingertips graze the little blue box in his pocket, carrying a ring. He figured, what a better place to propose than in front of anyone who means anything to them.

"They're our friends," Joey had reasoned, "They'll love us anyway." Chandler knew he was right, he was just never the guy who would take a chance.

Joey came out of his room- well; their room now, not to anyone else's knowledge but their own. He had a huge smile on his face. Joey came and sat on the edge of Chandler's recliner. He looked at Chandler and mouthed 'I love you' before turning to face their friends. Before either of them could open their mouths Phoebe jumped up,

"Oh! Oh! They're together!"

Everyone muttered different versions of 'yeah whatever', used to Phoebe's eccentric assumptions. Joey looked at Chandler hesitantly and grabbed his hand.

"Well, yeah basically." Joey smiled and leant over Chandler's limp frame to place a kiss at the corner of his mouth. He looked back at the appalled faces of his friends.

"Joey- you're not gay." Ross managed to get out. Chandler was used to the gay jokes being aimed at him, so it didn't really bother him.

"Well, yeah. I am." Joey said confidently giving Chandler's hand a squeeze.

"Duh!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Are you guys totally blind? They've been together for years." Joey and Chandler looked at her blankly.

"H-How long?" Rachel muttered.

"Um, about two and a half years."

"Oh." They sat there in silence while their friends took it in.

"Congratulations." Ross smiled weakly patting Chandler on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah! That's great for you guys." Rachel smiled. Mike didn't say much. He never really did.

"Yeah." Now it was Chandler's turn to get anxious. "Um, okay. I want to do this as romantically as possible." Joey looked confused- well when didn't Joey look confused. The other four looked interested. Chandler turned his whole body to face Joey.

"Joey. Joey." He sighed, "I love you, so much. I mean I- always have." Chandler was too caught up in his emotions to notice the door open. In fact, nobody did. "It's- It's always been you Joe, you know that. It was inevitable. I mean, I loved Monica, and I love my kids." He glanced over to where Jack and Erica were sitting with Emma. "But I love you now, and I never want to let you down." Chandler pulled the little bluish black box from his pocket and whispered, "Joey Tribbiani- Will you marry me?" A chorus of 'Awws' erupted from their friends. Joey looked at Chandler with a tear running down the side of his face.

"Of course." He whispered, taking the ring and putting it on his finger. "But Chandler, you know, since you usually bottom, shouldn't I be the one proposing to you." Chandler blushed a deep red and sank back into the chair while their friends laughed it off. Joey kissed him passionately, which made him go a deeper red. That's when they heard the sharp sob from the doorway. Everyone turned his or her head to see Monica standing by the door. Joey scowled, Ross looked torn, Rachel and Phoebe looked concerned and Jack and Erica didn't notice.

"Mo-Monica?" Chandler gasped.

"I-I'm sorry, I should have knocked."

"No, uh it's okay." There was an awkward pause. Monica walked the few steps forward and wrapped her arms around her ex-husband's shoulders.

"Congratulations." She smiled. Chandler looked shocked, he and Monica had barely passed a few words between the last three years but now, looking down at her tear stricken face, he knew that the comradeship was still there. Ross was the next to speak.

"Monica? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," She muttered. "I'm really happy for you guys. I mean, the speech and…" she looked around the room. "I really missed you guys." Rachel's face softened and she walked over and gave Monica a hug.

"I think this is the way it was supposed to be." Chandler spoke softly.

"I know it was." Monica smiled and looked at her former friends. "I'm sorry Chandler, I am." She looked at him the way she did before she had said, 'you'll always be the guy who peed on me,' all those years ago.

"I actually came here to apologize to all of you." She looked around the room, her eyes landing on Joey, who hadn't moved since he noticed her presence.

"Joey, I'm sorry I hurt Chandler. But you have him now, and I know that you guys will be happy." She smiled fondly, "Please forgive me?"

He looked hesitant, but walked over to Monica and gave her a crushing hug. "Yeah, Mon. I forgive you." Three quick taps on the door signified Richard's arrival. Monica turned to her husband with a smile on her face. The first time he'd seen a smile like that since the wedding.

"Can we start over guys? Like it used to be?" She asked hopefully. Phoebe stood up for the first time and walked over and gave Monica a hug. "Yeah Monica. I forgive you too." The five friends gathered around, Joey and Chandler in the middle, with Ross, Rachel and Phoebe around them.

"Monica." This time it was Chandler's voice. He looked at Joey and smiled. "I know the preparations haven't really started yet, and it might be a little awkward," He offered a smile and continued, "But Joey and I would like to invite you- and Richard to the wedding."

"The wedding?" Richard asked.

"Yeah, Joey and Chandler are getting married." Ross spoke quietly. Monica glanced at Richard and nodded, "We'll be there." And gave a warm smile to the people she so desperately wanted to call her friends again.

-- Two Years Later --

Chandler walked into Monica's apartment. Her and Richard had sold the house in Westchester and came to live across the hall again. Chandler and Joey had been married for a little over a year now and the gang spent more time at Monica's then at their own houses. Just like it used to be. Since each apartment only had one extra room, Jack lived with Joey and Chandler and Erica lived with Monica and Richard. It wasn't awkward anymore. Actually, it was as if Monica and Chandler had never been together.

"Oh honey, I'm home." Chandler mused as he walked in to the multicolored apartment. Joey, who was sitting on the couch with Phoebe walked over and kissed Chandler romantically. Monica and Ross were fighting over a piece of cake. And Rachel was doing her hair in the bathroom.

"Oh, I was worried. Joey was here eating our food alone." Monica said sarcastically hitting Chandler in the arm with a smile.

"No, Mon, you're right. I am hungry." Chandler smirked and took the piece of cake her and Ross were arguing about and eating it in under five seconds. Joey looked disappointed.

"Ah sorry Joe, I should have saved you some hm?"

"Yeah!" He pretended to pout.

"Hey, how about I bake you a cake when we get home." Joey's eyes lit up and he said, "Really?"

"No, hey Monica, make Joey a cake for me?"

"Haha, funny Bing."

"So do I get a cake or what?" Joey said impatiently.

"Oh I'll make you one!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Uh, okay." Joey said hesitantly.

"You sure you want to do that?" Ross joked, receiving a dirty glare from Rachel. "I mean, my wife is the best cook I know. I always eat her cookies." Rachel smacked him in the arm and went to bug Joey. Chandler sat at the table beside Monica and Ross and helped himself to the fruit in the bowl.

"Do you ever stop eating?" Monica whined. " It's like you and Joey get married and you switch- no, you take on his traits."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Joey said with a smile putting his hands around Chandler's neck and putting his chin on his head. Monica didn't even wince.

"Oh, nothing Joe." Chandler amended winking at Monica and Ross while looking up to kiss his husband.

"Love you." Joey whispered.

"I know." Chandler sighed kissing Joey again and looking at their friends. Everything was the way it was supposed to be. His heart belonged to one person, and one person only, and that person is all he could have asked for in his life.


	2. The BreakUp

Okay, so some people have asked me to continue this story, so I'm going to give details on some of the events I skimmed over. (the breakup, Ross&Rachel's wedding, the getting together, the wedding, monica moving back, and the future.) each of these things will have it's own chapter, and not in the order listed above. So, here goes nothing (:

Chandler sat on the couch in the living room of his and Monica's house in Westchester. He toyed with his wedding ring around his finger. He didn't understand how he gave in to this. He heard a tired grunt coming from upstairs. _Joey's finally awake_, he thought, walking into the kitchen to get a start on breakfast.

He mindlessly threw the pancake ingredients together while stewing on his long since loveless marriage. He had desperately made Monica agree to having a Joey room upstairs for Joey to spend the night in whenever he sees fit. This was the third night this week that she had left him and Joey to watch the kids while she's out all night. A normal husband would have called anyone he knew to see where his wife was. A normal husband would have automatically assumed his wife was cheating on him. Chandler, he didn't care.

Joey walked into the kitchen quietly and sat at the table. The truth was, he loved staying at Monica and Chandler's place. It was almost as if they were roommates again. He knew they weren't, but he's allowed to dream. He had grown suspicious of Monica's disappearances. He was more suspicious, however, to Chandler's reaction. Chandler didn't seem to even notice his wife's absence, but he spent every minute of Joey's presence with a smile on his face. Joey would have liked to think that it meant something, but this was Chandler he was talking about, it obviously didn't mean anything.

This went on for a few weeks, Monica would leave and Joey would come over then Monica would come back the next day and act like nothing's changed. The fact is that everything's changed; they all knew it. Joey was more and more suspicious every day about Monica's whereabouts at night, but whenever he had tried to talk to Chandler about it, the conversation usually went like this:

"Hey Chandler, wanna beer?"

"Sure."

"So how are you and Monica doing?" 

"I don't know, okay I guess."

"Huh, where is she anyways?" 

"No idea."

"Don't you care?"

"Of course I do."

Joey had grown somewhat tired of Chandler lack of awareness of his wife's absence, but as long as he was okay with it, there wasn't anything Joey could do.

The news came a month after the twins' first birthday. Monica insisted on staying home while Chandler visited their friends in the city. Chandler thought this was kind of weird, but nevertheless, he went anyways. Chandler brought Joey back to Westchester with him, assuming Monica would leave again tonight. As he approached the house, he saw a familiar black jaguar in the drive way. He sighed, he knew this was the end of the lies, he just wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"Who's car is that?" Joey said, a look of utter horror etched on his face.

"No idea," Chandler muttered back, trying to put some panic into his voice for Joey's sake.

He parked the Porsche by the sidewalk and walked hesitantly up the walkway. He knew he was probably going to walk in on his wife in the arms of some tall, handsome, foreign lover, and for once in his life, he didn't care. He was too miserable to care. Actually, it would be a relief, more or less.

Chandler and Joey walked in the front door and walked into a suitcase.

"Monica?" he called, "What's going on?"

She walked into sight with Erica in her arm and stopped dead in front on Chandler.

"Chandler!" her voice cracked, "You're home early?" 

"Are you leaving?" He whispered. She looked at him horrorstruck, Richard was going to be coming down the stairs any second, if only she could give him some warning.

"I-" She was cut off by the deep voice of her lover.

"Monica, I wasn't sure which baby powder to bring, so I-" Richard walked into the entranceway and paused to survey Chandler's reaction. "Ah, Chandler."

"Richard! What the hell!" Joey exploded, glancing at Chandler who had a blank expression.

"Richard." Chandler said with a nod, putting his hand on Joey's arm to stop him from lunging at the man. Joey stared at Chandler incredulously.

"Chandler- oh god, I'm so sorry.. I was going to tell you, I swear." Monica panicked, gripping at thoughtless phrases trying to get Chandler to show any emotion.

"It's fine." He said quietly. "Richard was always better for you than me." It wasn't really an untrue statement. Richard loved Monica, it seemed unfair to take that away from him. "Let's go." He said pulling Joey away from the scene, but Joey refused to move.

"Monica, how could you?" He stared at her, looking hurt. "How could you hurt Chandler like that."

"Joe, it's fine." Chandler said, giving his arm another useless tug.

"No, it's not fine Chander! What are you saying! What about the kids?!"

"Mon, you can keep them, they're too young to know who I am yet anyways."

"Of course they do Chandler, you're their father." She said, utterly terrified that he was acting this way, as if he really didn't care.

"Chandler, may I have a word?" Richard asked solemnly, motioning to the other room. Joey attempted to stop him, but Chandler shook him off. He was old enough to think for himself.

"Listen, I'm terribly sorry." He said with a groan, "I really like you Chandler, I didn't mean to do this to you."

"Hey man, don't. It's fine. It's always been you when it comes to Monica. We even had a jar, every time she said your name, she had to put a dollar in the jar." Chandler started laughing at the memory and stopped short. "Just take care of her, okay?"

"I will, thanks Chandler. But you shouldn't just abandon your children. You may not love Monica anymore, but they're still your kids."

"I know." He said with a small smile, "I know." He patted Richard on the shoulder, gave Monica a cold nod, and grabbed Joey's arm and led him out of the house.

When they arrived back in Manhattan, everyone was already at Joey's, as they had taken to hanging out there once Monica and Chandler moved to Westchester. The cab ride there had been tense, with un-needed consoling from Joey. They walked into the apartment and greeted the others.

"Hey, Chandler, what are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"Monica's cheating on me." He said in a nonchalant tone, with Joey nodding along as if to prove the truth of the matter.

After gasps of surprise from Phoebe and Rachel they look to Ross. He was sitting blankly staring at the men.

"Monica's not cheating on you." He said, in barely a whisper.

"She's with Richard." Joey said before the words could come out of Chandler's mouth.

"No. She's not. She can't be. She's with you." Ross stuttered over the words a thousand times. The more he said them, the more truth they had to them.

"She's always loved Richard." Phoebe said, rubbing Ross' arm in comfort.

"How did you find out?" Rachel asked with caution, surveying Chandler's reaction.

"Walked in as they were leaving." He said calmly. "It's okay guys."

"IT'S NOT OKAY." Ross exploded. "MY LITTLE SISTER. MY LITTLE SISTER DID THIS?!"

"I don't love her anymore." Chandler said with a small smile looking at Joey. "I really, really don't."

"So, are you getting a divorce?" Ross asked, with almost a glint of delight in his eye. The thought of finally, someone in the group getting a divorce that wasn't him was almost delightful.

"I guess so, I didn't really get a chance to talk to her about it." Chandler spoke. He hoped that he could get some kind of custody over the kids, after all, Richard was right. They were Chandler's children as well as Monica's.

"Aw, honey!" Rachel walked over and gave Chandler a hug. "Where are you gonna stay?"

He had definitely not thought of that before he walked out of the house. Now that he was no longer with Monica, living arrangements would be a problem.

"With me." Joey said almost instantly. "He needs to be home." He said the word home almost possessively, as if Chandler could dare call any other place home. Chandler looked at Rachel apologetically.

"I'll only be here until I get another apartment. I promise." 

"No, don't worry! Stay as long as you like." She smiled. "Actually, it won't matter how long you stay here." Everyone looked at Rachel with mystery. She gave Ross a wink and slipped her hand in her pocket. When she showed her hand again, it bore Ross' grandmother's engagement ring.

"I was going to wait until Monica was here to announce it, but seeing as we probably won't see her much anymore, we might as well announce it now." Ross spoke slowly and surely, putting his arms around Rachel's waist.

"WE'RE ENGAGED!" Rachel shrieked, throwing her hand in the air with force, slamming the ring into Ross' face. After a long group hug and much congratulations, everyone focused on Chandler and Monica once again.

Chandler spent the night in the arms of his friends, receiving unnecessary comforting. But it's all he could do to appease them. Monica and Chandler were their relationship role models. The end of that relationship meant the end of an era for the six friends. Chandler knew that there was only so much more of it he could have taken before they would be in Westchester, comforting Monica because _he_ left _her_. He had always wondered how the group would be broken up if they ever split. Now he knew, Monica wasn't the sole center of the group after all.


	3. Rehersal Dinner part one

Oh my god guys! I feel like a horrible person, I haven't updated this in months! With school and exams it's been a little hectic, but the good news is that this little section is finally done, which means yay!

So new chapter comes with good news and bad news.

Bad news is that this is horribly short. Short short short.

Good news is a) I've got some JC in this chapter, so yay. And b) this chapter comes in two parts, partly because I like suspense, and partly because I don't have time tonight to type up the rest. BUT, I can assure you it will be up tomorrow!

ALSO IN GOOD NEWS; I have a MONDLER one shot and a RANDLER chaptered fic coming soon to a theater near you! So keep on the look-out.

ANYWAYS, on with the story.

Months had gone by since the divorce finalized. Monica had been effectively phased out. Not that Chandler had wanted that to happen. He had been prepared to leave the group, but they had wanted nothing to do with Monica. Especially Joey. Rachel and Phoebe still had girls days with Monica because they had been friends for so long, and Ross still had to see Monica, because she was his sister. Other than that, they were on Chandler's side all the way.

Living with Joey was as amazing as it had ever been. Candy in the furniture, empty beer bottles everywhere, etc. It was amazing. The best part- not that he would ever admit it to anyone- was the simple fact that he got to sleep in Joey's room until Rachel moved out. Joey had put off dating until Rachel moved out so that Chandler wouldn't feel uncomfortable. Joey's hospitality was surprising, but Joey had always been more partial to Chandler than anyone else in the group.

The months creeped by and soon enough, it was the rehersal dinner. Tomorrow, Ross and Rachel would be Professor and Mrs. Geller. Chandler smiled, he was happy that two of his best friends were finally settling down. Especially Ross and Rachel. Ross had said that he wasn't going to marry again after his third divorce, but this was Rachel, it was different.

After an hour of trying to convince Joey that this was indeed a formal affair, and he did need to wear underwear, Chandler put on his tux and left the room. He was only going to this because this was his best friend's wedding. Even though he'd endured many before, he needed to be there. The only reason he didn't want to go was because Monica and Richard would be there. He pulled himself out of his thoughts as he realized someone was talking to him.

"Hey man! How do I look?" Joey asked with a smile pivoting so Chandler could see all angles. Joey looked amazing. Chandler thought that if his jaw could actually physically drop to the floor, he'd be picking it up from China right now.

"Really great Joe, really great." That's right, don't let him know you're mentally undressing him. Good.

On their way to the dinner, Chandler took a moment to think about what would have happened if he and Monica never hooked up in London. The truth was, she would probably be here in the cab with them. He felt his stomach drop and instantly felt guilty. It wasn't his fault that Monica wasn't part of the group anymore, but that was like him. Chandler Bing knows how to make himself not look like the bad guy. In fact, he really wasn't the bad guy, he'd stuck it out. No matter how much he told himself he loved Monica, he didn't. But he stuck out their marriage anyways.

They walked into a beautiful hall decorated in burgundies and whites. He walked through the hallway, receiving many condolences about the divorce from his ex-family. As they took their seats at the table with Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Mike, he immediately spotted Monica and Richard in the crowd. Monica looked beautiful as ever, her hair down, dressed in a long red gown, much like her bridesmaid dress at Ross' second wedding. Chandler caught her gaze for half a second and offered a slight smile which she returned immediately, almost glad it wasn't a scowl.

Joey sat beside Chandler at the table and started whispering excitedly about a girl he had met . Chandler listened attentively, not listening to the words so much as the way Joey's voice floated about when he was excited.

"… I'm gonna try and score tonight!" he said excitedly, bring Chandler back to earth. He felt his heart drop and reached for the alcohol, he'd definitely have to drink a lot more to make it through tonight.

The dinner lasted longer than Chandler expected it to. When it was over, Joey left with the girl to show her where the "bathroom" was. That was Joey's code to Chandler to tell him he could go back to their room because he was going to the girl's room.

Chandler entered the door to his hotel room and fell on to the bed with his head in his hands. He was upset with Joey for leaving him alone, not that he expected any different. It wasn't like Joey was just going to drop everything -especially sex- to hangout with his best friend who was undeniably in love with him. Not that Joey knew that. Chandler wanted to kick something.

'Of course doesn't know. If he knew, he would probably kick my ass!' Chandler thought in frustration, kicking over his suitcase. He thought Joey would never love him the way he loved Joey. It turns out the alcohol did nothing but make his depression worse.

He heard the key in the lock and flicked on the tv to act like that's what he'd been doing the whole time. He heard the door shut.

"Hey." Joey said, sitting down beside him, "What are we watching?"

"What happened to the girl?" He spoke quietly and accusingly. Joey looked confused, then the light bulb moment came.

"OH, Marena? She, uh. I… What are we watchin'?"

"Joey Tribbiani not scoring at a wedding? What has this world come to?" "I just wanted to spend some time with my best bud." Joey said with a grin and put his arm around Chandler's shoulders. Where Joey's fingers touched his skin Chandler felt electric shocks run through his body and he gave an involuntary shudder. Joey looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Chandler would never know whether it was the alcohol or the electricity that made him do what he did next, but all he knew was that it felt right.

In half a second Joey was on his back and Chandler was straddling him, kissing him with everything he had. Every single emotion, insecurity, want, need, was in that kiss and Chandler loved every second of it. After his head cleared a little, he jumped back realizing what he had just done, but not realizing that Joey was kissing him back. He took one terrified glance and Joey's dazed expression and ran out of that room faster than he'd ever ran in his life.

READ AND REVIEW. Doesn't take much and makes my day better, everyone wins!

-elizzabethavary.


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